Markku Keränen: A Little Summer / Pieni Kesä

Markku Keränen’s tempera paintings are composed of playful abstract forms that appear to interact with one another. His circular motifs create the illusion of constant motion – shimmering, converging, and drifting apart again. This continuous movement lends each form a distinct presence. Working in series, Keränen engages with long-standing traditions of painting, while his distinctive approach to composition allows new visual relationships to constantly emerge.

Keränen began his artistic career in the 1970s, gradually moving from figurative expression towards abstraction. Yet two elements have remained central throughout his oeuvre: color and light. His paintings are distinguished by a luminous palette and a sense of harmony that transcends the everyday. In his recent works, serene hues unfold in subtle variations, with dozens of shades often brought together within a single composition. Alongside color, light plays a central role in Keränen’s work. 

At times it radiates warmth; at others it evokes the effect of stark backlighting. His distinctive treatment of light has been linked to Hailuoto, Finland, the island that serves as his summer retreat, where the sun both rises and sets over the sea.

Markku Keränen (b. 1945) graduated from the University of Art and Design Helsinki, where he later also taught. He has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Finland and abroad, including in Prague and Most in the Czech Republic, and at venues such as Kunsthalle Helsinki and the Rovaniemi Art Museum. His works are represented in major Finnish collections, including those of the Amos Anderson Foundation, EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art, the Sara Hildén Art Museum, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma. Born in Salla, Lapland, Keränen lives and works in Espoo, Finland.

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